Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Large-Eddy Simulation of the Effects of Wind-Direction Fluctuations on Turbulent Flow and Gas Dispersion Within a Cubical Canopy

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Boundary-Layer Meteorology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Large-eddy simulation of turbulent flow and gas dispersion in a cubical canopy is used to investigate the effect of wind-direction fluctuations on gas dispersion. Square blocks are set at regular intervals on the bottom surface, with line sources placed within the first, second, third, fifth and seventh rows. Large-eddy simulation without wind-direction fluctuations produces a good prediction of the mean streamwise velocity component, and the standard deviations of the fluctuations in the streamwise and spanwise velocity components, obtained from a wind-tunnel experiment. Wind-direction fluctuations marginally affect the mean streamwise velocity component above the canopy in the first row, and do not significantly affect the component beyond the third row. The standard deviations of the fluctuations in the streamwise and spanwise velocity components above the canopy are also affected by wind-direction fluctuations, but within the canopy the components are less sensitive to the fluctuations beyond the third row. The spatially-averaged concentrations within the canyon with wind-direction fluctuations before the third row are marginally greater than concentrations without the fluctuations, but they are essentially identical beyond the fifth row. The low-frequency turbulent flow that passes through the canyon is generated with and without wind-direction fluctuations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • An K, Fung JCH, Yim SHL (2013) Sensitivity of inflow boundary conditions on downstream wind and turbulence profiles through building obstacles using a CFD approach. J Wind Eng Ind Aerodyn 115:137–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antonopoulos-Domis M (1981) Large eddy simulation of a passive scalar in isotropic turbulence. J Fluid Mech 104:55–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnold SJ, Apsimon H, Barlow J, Belcher S, Bell M, Boddy JW, Britter R, Cheng H, Clark R, Colvile RN, Dimitroulopoulouh S, Dobre A, Greally B, Kaur S, Knights A, Lawton T, Makepeace A, Martin D, Neophytou M, Neville S, Nieuwenhuijsen M, Nickless G, Price C, Robin A, Shallcross D, Simmonds P, Smalley RJ, Tate J, Tomlin AS, Wang H, Walsh P (2004) Introduction to the DAPPLE air pollution project. Sci Total Environ 332:139–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belcher SE, Jerram N, Hunt JCR (2003) Adjustment of a turbulent boundary layer to a canopy of roughness elements. J Fluid Mech 488:369–398

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Branford S, Coceal O, Thomas TG, Belcher SE (2011) Dispersion of a point-source release of a passive scalar through an urban-like array for different wind. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 139:367–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cai X-M, Barlow JF, Belcher SE (2008) Dispersion and transfer of passive scalars in and above street canyons—Large-eddy simulations. Atmos Environ 42:5885–5895

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng WC, Liu C-H (2011) Large-eddy simulation of flow and pollutant transports in and above two-dimensional idealized street canyon. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 139:411–437

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coceal O, Thomas TG, Castro IP, Belcher SE (2006) Mean flow and turbulence statistics over groups of urban-like cubical obstacles. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 121:491–519

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coceal O, Thomas TG, Belcher SE (2007) Spatial variability of flow statistics within regular building arrays. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 125:537–552

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deardorff JW (1970) A numerical study of three-dimensional turbulent channel flow at large Reynolds numbers. J Fluid Mech 41:453–480

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duan G, Ngan K (2018) Effects of time-dependent inflow perturbations on turbulent flow in a street canyon. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 167:257–284

    Google Scholar 

  • Inagaki A, Castillo MCL, Yamashita Y, Kanda M, Takimoto H (2012) Large-eddy simulation of coherent flow structures within a cubical canopy. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 142:207–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Issa R (1986) Solution of implicitly discretized fluid flow equations by operator splitting. J Comput Phys 62:40–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim J-J, Baik J-J (2004) A numerical study of the effects of ambient wind direction on flow and dispersion in urban street canyons using the RNG k-ε turbulence model. Atmos Environ 38:3039–3048

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Letzel M, Krane M, Raasch S (2008) High resolution urban large-eddy simulation studies from street canyon to neighborhood scale. Atmos Environ 42:8770–8784

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meroney R, Pavageau M, Rafailidis S, Schatzmann M (1996) Study of line source characteristics for 2-D physical modeling of pollutant dispersion in street canyons. J Wind Eng Ind Aerodyn 62:37–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michioka T (2018) Large-eddy simulation for turbulent flow and gas dispersion over wavy walls. Int J Heat Mass Transf 125:569–579

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michioka T, Sato A (2012) Effect of incoming turbulent structure on pollutant removal from two-dimensional street canyon. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 145:469–484

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michioka T, Sato A, Takimoto H, Kanda M (2011) Large-eddy simulation for the mechanism of pollutant removal from a two-dimensional street canyon. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 138:195–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michioka T, Sato A, Sada K (2013) Large-eddy simulation coupled to mesoscale meteorological model for gas dispersion in an urban district. Atmos Environ 75:153–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michioka T, Takimoto H, Sato A (2014) Large-eddy simulation of pollutant removal from a three-dimensional street canyon. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 150:259–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michioka T, Takimoto H, Ono H, Sato A (2016) Effect of fetch on a mechanism for pollutant removal from a two-dimensional street canyon. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 160:185–199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michioka T, Takimoto H, Ono H, Sato A (2017) Reynolds-number dependence of gas dispersion over a wavy wall. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 164:401–418

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michioka T, Takimoto H, Ono H, Sato A (2018) Effects of fetch on turbulent flow and pollutant dispersion within a cubical canopy. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 168:247–267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murena F, Mele B (2014) Effect of short-time variations of wind velocity on mass transfer between street canyons and the atmospheric boundary layer. Atoms Pollt Res 5:484–490

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nozu T, Tamura T (2012) LES of turbulent wind and gas dispersion in a city. J Wind Eng Ind Aerodyn 104–106:492–499

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okabayashi K, Ide Y, Takahashi H, Kane N, Okamoto S, Kobayashi K (1991) A new wind tunnel technique for investigating gas diffusion behind a structure. Atmos Environ 25A:1227–1236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okabayashi K, Ide Y, Kitabayashi K, Okamoto S, Kobayashi K (1996) Effect of wind directional fluctuations on gas diffusion over a model terrain. Atmos Environ 30:2871–2880

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pavageau M, Schatzmann M (1999) Wind tunnel measurements of concentration fluctuations in an urban street canyon. Atmos Environ 33:3961–3971

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takimoto H, Sato A, Barlow JF, Moriwaki R, Inagaki A, Onomura S, Kanda M (2011) Particle image velocimetry measurements of turbulent flow within outdoor and indoor urban scale models and flushing motions in urban canopy layers. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 140:295–314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tominaga Y, Stathopoulos T (2011) CFD modeling of pollution dispersion in a street canyon: Comparison between LES and RANS. J Wind Eng Ind Aerodyn 99:340–348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie ZT (2011) Modelling street-scale flow and dispersion in realistic winds—towards coupling with mesoscale meteorological models. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 141:53–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie ZT, Castro IP (2009) Large-eddy simulation for flow and dispersion in urban streets. Atmos Environ 43:2174–2185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang YW, Gu ZL, Cheng Y, Lee SC (2011) Effect of real-time boundary wind conditions on the air flow and pollutant dispersion in an urban street canyon-Large eddy simulations. Atmos Environ 45:3352–3359

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), KAKENHI(18K04471).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science and Engineering, Kindai University, 3-4-1 Kowakae, Higashiōsaka, Osaka, 577-8502, Japan

    Takenobu Michioka

  2. Environmental Science Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, 1646 Abiko, Abiko-shi, Chiba-ken, 270-1194, Japan

    Hiroshi Takimoto, Hiroki Ono & Ayumu Sato

Authors
  1. Takenobu Michioka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hiroshi Takimoto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hiroki Ono
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ayumu Sato
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Takenobu Michioka.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Michioka, T., Takimoto, H., Ono, H. et al. Large-Eddy Simulation of the Effects of Wind-Direction Fluctuations on Turbulent Flow and Gas Dispersion Within a Cubical Canopy. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 173, 243–262 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-019-00467-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-019-00467-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation